Christmas thoughts come early

I finished an adaptation of "The First Christmas" for the stage too late last year for any group to be able to have enough time to put it on. Determined to start letting people know about it a little sooner in the year, we announced a few weeks ago that we were looking for 12 brave church groups willing to be part of the inaugural run of this production.

In the three or four weeks since we made the announcement, we've heard from 28 groups from all corners of the globe. While most groups are from the states, we have three from Canada, three from Australia, two from New Zealand, and one from England who have expressed an interest.

Even within the states, they are far flung among Iowa, Indiana, Utah, Virginia, Texas, Georgia, Kentucky, California, and Nevada.

And while most of them are church groups, we’ve also heard from a college, a high school, a home school association, a performing arts academy, two community theaters, and even a city.

I met the woman who would later become my wife because courageous individuals like these people who undertook a musical production for my church group. I will be forever grateful to those willing to undertake such an effort. (I hope my wife feels the same.)

Currently, these 28 groups are reviewing a draft copy of the script. One group, a church in Australia, has committed by paying the licensing fee. We're still looking for 11 more groups.